Cameron is claiming to have discovered the Tomb of Christ.
Pros:
- The tomb contains
- Jesus
- Mary
- Mariamne (Mary Madalene?)
- James, Brother of Jesus
- Judah, Son of Jesus
- Matthew
- Yose
The claim is that this conjunction of names is statistically unlikely to occur. It is a little unclear to me how this “Jesus” equation is supposed to work or how exactly it was done. Supposedly without Joses (and without Matthew, since the gospels tell us nothing of a brother named Matthew) we have a 1 in 600 chance. But Yose is extremely rare.
- DNA evidence shows that Mariamne is unrelated to Jesus. The claim is made that the only reason two unrelated people would be buried together is if they were related by marriage. They conclude, therefore, that these two people are married.
Cons:
- The “James, Brother of Jesus” ossuary may have been forged, and may not even have come from the Talpiot tomb. (see this link in the Star, near the end of the article)
- James tomb should be elsewhere. (See “New Addendum” on this post from Ben Witherington)
- The name “Jesus” may actually be “Hanun” (the Semitic script is difficult to read) (see this link in National Geographic)
- In an interview, Amos Kloner, who oversaw the original discovery in 1980, claims that no James ossuary was present at the original dig, there was only an unmarked one and it is not missing. (Jerusalem Post).
- The inscriptions on the tomb are not what they should be if this were Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene, etc. (Archaeological Institute of America).
Who would like to add to these lists?